Established 27 June 2006, originally it was "My Little Contribution" [to the internet], and was mostly just for my mom. 💕 She's gone now, it's just me here with my random thoughts and interests and hopes and dreams, and for-real the struggles!
Dear Family, Our 2012 Post-Holiday New Year Letter :)
Your thoughtfulness and generosity know no limits. I regret that in our holiday haste, we have lost track mostly of who gave what, but I do know a certain favorite few. Ok, so Daddy scored each of their favorites - her DSIXL, and his Angry Birds board game and t-shirts, those are far and away their favorites. They both love his Bilibo chair. She absolutely adores her Spectra doll from NB, as well as the Liv Doll hairstyle head thing from Janet & Brooke. His second favorite is the train table - thank you NB! He enjoyed it as a table for a simple oval track for a few days, but I did get the city center installed by Thursday, and he does love it.
T'was the Night Before Christmas - Submarine Style
by Sean Keck
T'was the night before Christmas, and what no-one could see,
The men with the dolphins were under the sea.
Most of the crew was flat on their backs,
Snoring and dreaming all snug in their racks.
Those men on watch were making their rounds,
Some manning the planes or listening for sounds.
Back in maneuvering or down in the room,
They all hoped the oncoming watch would come soon.
I'd finished some PMs whose time was now due,
And hoped for some sleep, even an hour or two.
Against better judgment I took a short stroll,
And found myself wandering into control.
The Nav had the Conn, the COW was in place,
The COB had the Dive and a scowl on his face.
The helm and the planes were relaxed but aware,
The QM and ET were discussing a dare.
To comply with the orders the Nav told the Dive,
To bring the boat up with minimum rise.
The orders were given and soon they were there,
At periscope depth with a scope in the air.
The QM confirmed our position with care,
The broadcast was copied, we brought in some air.
The Nav on the scope let out a small cry,
He shook his head twice and rubbed at his eyes.
He looked once again to find what it was,
That interrupted his sweep and caused him to pause.
Try as he might there was nothing to see,
So down went the scope and us to the deep.
I asked what it was that caused his dismay,
He sheepishly said, "I'm embarrassed to say."
It could have been Northern Lights or a cloud,
Or a meteorite he wondered aloud.
But to tell you the truth I guess I must say,
Whatever it was it looked like a sleigh.
And though it passed quickly and never was clear,
I almost believe it was pulled by reindeer.
We laughed and teased him and I got up to go,
When our moment was broken by "Conn, Radio."
They told us a message was just coming in,
We looked at the depth gauge and started to grin.
"Radio, Conn, I feel safe to say,
Your attempt at a joke is too long delayed.
If it had been sooner it might have been neat,
But I doubt we're receiving at four-hundred feet."
"Conn, Radio, you can come down and see,
We're not playing games to any degree."
I headed aft with nothing better to do,
Surprised by the fact it was still coming through.
It stopped and was sent to control to be read,
The Nav read it slowly and scratched at his head.
Then again he began but this time aloud,
To those that now waited, a curious crowd.
"To you Denizens of the Deep and men of the sea,
Who risk your life daily so others stay free.
I rarely have seen you on this, my big night,
For far too often you are hidden from sight.
But purely by luck I saw you tonight,
As your scope coaxed the plankton to glow in the night.
And lucky for me I've finally won,
The chance to say thanks for all you have done.
I know that you miss your families at home,
And sometimes you feel as if you're alone.
But trust what I say and I'll do what's right,
I'll take something special to your families tonight.
Along with the gifts I'll take to your kin,
I'll visit their dreams and leave word within.
They'll hear of your love, and how you miss them,
I'll tell them that soon you'll be home again.
It might not be much I know that is true,
To thank you for all the things that you do.
But I'll do what I can, while you do what's right,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight."
It Is No Measure of Health
"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
~Jiddu Krishnamurti
School Fall Portraits
The "packages" they offer for school portraits are absurdly expensive, and they want us to order them in advance, which we are reluctant to do - what if the kids don't cooperate and the photos come out hinky? So we sent them both to school on picture day with no pre-paid package order, knowing we'd be able to buy them online after-the-fact. His photo came out adorable!
And her photo is the absolute epitome of her personality! We have a deal - she pics out her fall photos outfit, I get to pick her spring photos outfit. So she chose her clothes and accessories, and I didn't even require she brush her hair if she didn't want to (which she usually doesn't). I love it! And look at that skin - she's so beautiful!
Talk Talk Talk & Draw Draw Draw
Thanksgiving
To Be Angry
"Anyone can become angry - that is easy;
but to be angry with the right person,
to the right degree,
at the right time,
for the right purpose,
and in the right way,
- that is not easy."
~Aristotle
Biggie in My Blog, on My Mind, and in My Heart
My intention is for this post to break posting aversion. No matter where he is on my blog, Mr. Bigs is at the front of my mind, and in the whole of my heart. 😻😽😿
RIP Biggie ♥
Better, but not yet Well
Viral Crud
He Loves Her Too :)
He Said "I Love You"! :) ♥
Considering a Master's Degree
Walking for LMC | Walk for Autism Virginia
Oops!
Scholastic Book Club
She brought home both "Lucky" (Grades 2 & 3) and "Arrow" (Grades 4, 5, & 6) flyers, in which she circled the "Dork Diaries" series, "Scratch It! Jewels", an "Owls Stationery Box", the "Rainbow Magic Night Fairies Boxed Set" and a matching "Paint Your Own Night Fairies Kit". I told her I preferred that she circle actual books, but that others might be willing to buy the crafty/toy-type items, but I would not. September's orders are due by the 23rd.
Happy 8th Birthday My Little Phoebe!
Then six of the eleven spent the night, we had a second round of spaghetti dinner, played with all the birthday presents, played Wii Just Dance 2, probably did hundreds of cartwheels, rough-housed a bit (wait til you see the blurred action shots!), negotiated the sleeping arrangements, setup the sleeping area, and put on the Disney Channel. The younger girls were asleep by 00:45, and the older ones probably feel asleep after I set the TV timer to go off at 01:30. The younger girls were awake by 07:30, played by themselves until they woke me at 08:30, the remaining girls woke at 09:30, we had a chocolate chip pancake and sausage breakfast, and played more Wii Just Dance until parents picked everybody up at noon. Except Rachel whom we took with us to Aunt Banana's for another cake and another Orbeez present (Yay!), we had to make the girls stop watching TV to play with AJ, had a yummy cheeseburger and tater-tot dinner, and headed home at 19:00. Phoebe showered, Christopher bathed, then we slept. It was an awesome all-Phoebe weekend. :)
Neurological Evaluation
Nutritional Biochemist
New Neurological? Symptom
I often speak to Christopher as if he perfectly well understands me. He might. Probably not, but maybe. I told him yesterday that we can deal with whatever he decides to throw our way, but he's not allowed to get worse - only better. Hopefully he's onboard with that plan.
Plantar Fascitis, Lumbar Spondylothesis, & Arthritis w/a Bone Spur
Once upon a time I was strictly a heels 'n hose girl, I wouldn't even wear shoes that made that awful flip flap sound, much less a pair of actual flip flops. Then I went to the shipyard and gave up on hose, but still avoided shoes that went flip flap - except one favorite pair of heels that was dressy enough to overlook that most unprofessional sound. Then I returned to DC and somehow lost my last shred of femenine professionalism, and spent this ENTIRE SUMMER - work included - in a pair of black gemmed flip flop thongs. Which has resulted in an uncomfortable case of plantar fascitis (self-diagnosed).
The Spondylothesis was medically diagnosed, over a year ago, with some arthritis and a bone spur to go with it, but I don't do the exercises I'm supposed to do to strengthen my core, so it's not improving.
Nothing like back pain to make a girl feel old! And the plantar fascitis makes me hobble around in the morning, feeling weak and unstable. My caffeine and nicotine breakfast habit doesn't help much either. I really need to invest in myself - the time, energy, and smart decision-making to make me FEEL better.
9/11 Ten Years Later
I didn't spend much time today thinking about 9/11/2001. I let myself stay busy with the kids instead, and even took a nap with Christopher. But that beautiful Tuesday morning will never fade from my memory. I was on a shuttle bus from the Pentagon to Rosslyn when we heard about the 2nd plane hitting the Towers. An Air Force guy on the bus expressed his hope that it was a flying accident. I remember thinking how optimistically naive that was, and wondering if he really believed that.
I was supporting the Dual Use Science & Technology (DUS&T) Program, an OSD program under the Director, Defense Research & Engineering (DDR&E), whose offices were temporarily located in Rosslyn due to ongoing Pentagon renovations. I don't remember the details of my day, but I do remember my friend and colleague, Jan Wilson, who was pregnant with her first child, asking "What kind of world am I bringing this child into?!"
Then the plane hit the Pentagon. That was much closer to home than the Twin Towers. We were scared. Were we safe? How many other attacks would there be? Would it last all day? all week? What was happening to our lives? Many people headed straight home. Those of us without our cars stayed at work. We all huddled into the little lobby-level cafe, silently glued to the small television, with slack or quivering jaws and tear-filled eyes. We watched the towers come down, first one, then the other. We could only imagine how many people might still be inside. We couldn't fathom the losses. We had no words.
I don't remember how I got home (to very nearby Lloyd Apartments, on Tennessee Ave). I remember talking to JR, he was at AIT and had had difficulty reaching me. I don't remember talking to Dianne, but I think I did. I spent the rest of the day crying and watching the news. I VHS recorded many hours of it, I think I still have that tape somewhere. Planes were grounded, the busy skies grew immediately and eerily silent.
Washington National is a VERY busy, one plane per minute airport, the noise of which I had never considered until it fell silent. The only noise from our skies was the occassional military aircraft, deploying to God knows where for God knows what mission. No news choppers. No commercial flights. No cargo flights. Then, when flights did resume, several days later I think, I remember looking up every time I heard a plane, wondering if I would ever see/hear planes the same again (I do, now).
I don't remember the rest of that week, surely we didn't return to work, did we? But then eventually we did. We hung our flags. We mourned our dead. We resumed our flights. We went back to work. But it was different. We donated blood. We spoke kindly to strangers. We looked one another in the eye. We embraced our freedoms, thankful to be Americans. Some of us grew angry. Some of us gave up hope. Some children turned into men that week and joined the Armed Services.
I wasn't a mother yet then, but I can only imagine the collective motherhood cringed with grief and fear of what was happening to our children. How do our babies, whom I believe are born innocent and pure, turn into the monsters we have among us today.
Well Done :)
Counting by Two & a Lips Kiss!
And then, even better, in my excitement about that, I asked for a kiss, which has previously always meant he presents his little cheek for ME to kiss, and instead he gave me an actual kiss on the lips! I was so delighted! ♥
Christopher's Language
My Baby to Selena Gomez at Hershey Park
ABA versus Son-Rise
Understanding of Autism | |
ABA | The Son-Rise Program |
Sees Autism as a behavioral disorder, with behaviors to be either extinguished or reinforced | Sees Autism as a social interactivity disorder, where the central deficit is relating to other people |
The child needs structure and must learn to sit appropriately, follow a schedule, and comply with requests | Helping the child to be flexible and spontaneous enables him/her to handle change and enjoy human interaction |
Area of Focus | |
ABA | The Son-Rise Program |
Changing the behavior of the child | Creating a relationship with the child |
Seeks to “extinguish” the child’s repetitive “stimming” behavior | Uses “joining” technique to participate in the child’s repetitivebehavior |
Method of Teaching New Skills | |
ABA | The Son-Rise Program |
Repetition – Uses discrete trials or similar method to prompt the child to perform a behavior (followed by a reward) over and over again until the child has demonstrated mastery | Motivation – Builds the child’s own interests into every game or activity so that the child is excited, “comes back for more,” generalizes skills, and relates naturally rather than robotically |
Areas of Learning | |
ABA | The Son-Rise Program |
Often focuses on academic skills | Always teaches socialization first |
Sees academic areas such as math as an excellent way to help the childcompensate for lack of social skills | Seeks not to help the childcompensate for social skills deficits but rather to overcome them |
The Role of the Parents | |
ABA | The Son-Rise Program |
Professionals are the major players, with parents having a more observational role | Parents are given the most central role because their love, dedication, and experience with their child is unmatched |
The Role of the Facilitator’s Attitude | |
ABA | The Son-Rise Program |
Sees attitude as largely irrelevant, with effective application of behavior shaping techniques being what matters | Sees attitude as vitally important, since having a non-judgmental and welcoming attitude determines whether the child feels safe and relaxed enough to interact and learn |
ABA Therapy
from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_behavior_analysis
ABA is defined as the science in which the principles of the analysis of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior, and in which experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for change in behavior.
Baer, Wolf, and Risley's 1968 article is still used as the standard description of ABA. It describes the seven dimensions of ABA: application; a focus on behavior; the use of analysis; and its technological, conceptually systematic, effective, and general approach. Baer, Wolf, and Risley's seven dimensions are:
Applied: ABA focuses on areas that are of social significance. In doing this, behavior scientists must take into consideration more than just the short-term behavior change, but also look at how behavior changes can affect the consumer, those who are close to the consumer, and how any change will affect the interactions between the two.
Behavioral: ABA must be behavioral, i.e.: behavior itself must change, not just what the consumer says about the behavior. It is not the goal of the behavior scientists to get their consumers to stop complaining about behavior problems, but rather to change the problem behavior itself. In addition, behavior must be objectively measured. A behavior scientist cannot resort to the measurement of non-behavioral substitutes.
Analytic: The behavior scientist can demonstrate believable control over the behavior that is being changed. In the lab, this has been easy as the researcher can start and stop the behavior at will. However, in the applied situation, this is not always as easy, nor ethical, to do. According to Baer, Wolf, and Risley, this difficulty should not stop a science from upholding the strength of its principles. As such, they referred to two designs that are best used in applied settings to demonstrate control and maintain ethical standards. These are the reversal and multiple baseline designs. The reversal design is one in which the behavior of choice is measured prior to any intervention. Once the pattern appears stable, an intervention is introduced, and behavior is measured. If there is a change in behavior, measurement continues until the new pattern of behavior appears stable. Then, the intervention is removed, or reduced, and the behavior is measured to see if it changes again. If the behavior scientist truly has demonstrated control of the behavior with the intervention, the behavior of interest should change with intervention changes.
Technological: This means that if any other researcher were to read a description of the study, that researcher would be able to "replicate the application with the same results." This means that the description must be very detailed and clear. Ambiguous descriptions do not qualify. Cooper et al. describe a good check for the technological characteristic: "have a person trained in applied behavior analysis carefully read the description and then act out the procedure in detail. If the person makes any mistakes, adds any operations, omits any steps, or has to ask any questions to clarify the written description then the description is not sufficiently technological and requires improvement."
Conceptually Systematic: A defining characteristic is in regards to the interventions utilized; and thus research must be conceptually systematic by only utilizing procedures and interpreting results of these procedures in terms of the principles from which they were derived.
Effective: An application of these techniques improve behavior under investigation. Specifically, it is not a theoretical importance of the variable, but rather the practical importance (social importance) that is essential.
Generality: It should last over time, in different environments, and spread to other behaviors not directly treated by the intervention. In addition, continued change in specified behavior after intervention for that behavior has been withdrawn is also an example of generality.
In 2005, Heward, et al. added their belief that the following five characteristics should be added:
Accountable: Direct and frequent measurement enables analysts to detect their success and failures to make changes in an effort to increase successes while decreasing failures. ABA is a scientific approach in which analysts may guess but then critically test ideas, rather than "guess and guess again." This constant revision of techniques, commitment to effectiveness and analysis of results leads to an accountable science.
Public: Applied behavior analysis is completely visible and public. This means that there are no explanations that cannot be observed. There are no mystical, metaphysical explanations, hidden treatment, or magic. Thus, ABA produces results whose explanations are available to all of the public.
Doable: ABA has a pragmatic element in that implementors of interventions can consist of a variety of individuals, from teachers to the participants themselves. This does not mean that ABA requires one simply to learn a few procedures, but with the proper planning, it can effectively be implemented by most everyone willing to invest the effort.
Empowering: ABA provides tools to practitioners that allow them to effectively change behavior. By constantly providing visual feedback to the practitioner on the results of the intervention, this feature of ABA allows clinicians to assess their skill level and builds confidence in their technology.
Optimistic: According to several leading authors, practitioners skilled in behavior analysis have genuine cause to be optimistic for the following reasons: Individual behavior is largely determined by learning and cumulative effects of the environment, which itself is manipulable; Direct and continuous measurements enable practitioners to detect small improvements in performance that might have otherwise been missed; As a practitioner uses behavioral techniques with positive outcomes, the more they will become optimistic about future success prospects; The literature provides many examples of success teaching individuals considered previously unteachable.
My Son Has Autism
Developmental Specialist
Set Black Flag Conditions
As of 14:15 on 18 July 2011 set Black Flag conditions and take necessary precautions as stated below when performing physical activity. Black Flag (WBGTI of 90 and above degrees F): All nonessential physical activity will be halted.
Ok, it's been 90+ and 95+ and even 100+ already this summer, with no Blag Flag. Why today? Hm.
New Carpool
The Midnight Orange
She sculpted the "Harvest" below for Christopher's mother commemorating his angelversary. :) Many other heartfelt and beautiful pieces at http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMidnightOrange.
Phoebe on Two Wheels!! :)
I continue to be amazed at how very very much I enjoy such moments with my children. I was all sweaty, still in my work clothes, exhausted and weak, and delighted to my core. :)
Spontaneous New Outfit
Water
Happy Mothers Day from Christopher
Nanny/Housekeeper/Cook
Initial childcare schedule will be 8am to 4:30pm on Mondays, and Noon to 4:30pm Tuesdays through Fridays, with additional hours required to support the Fairfax County Public Schools published calendar. Summer childcare schedule will be 8am to 4:30pm Mon-Fri.
Preferred candidates will earn more to stay and do dinner preparation and/or housekeeping. I will consider any combination of regular or occassional housekeeping, and will give high preference to the provider who could also take over the household grocery shopping, plan our meals, and prepare family dinners Monday through Friday.
English fluency/proficiency is a must, as our preschool son is experiencing slight language and developmental delay - we need someone who can work with him constantly on his communications and basic life skills (speaking, listening, self-feeding, self-dressing, potty training, etc).
My ideal candidate might be a Mom, who may either bring her one young child with her, or whose children are older and already independent. Or my ideal candidate might be a teacher whose schedule is a perfect fit and has lots of experience managing varying degrees of childhood chaos. Or my ideal candidate might a spunky Grandma who can keep up with the high-energy and high-spirits of young children. Or my ideal candidate might be a college student who may be specializing in early childhood development or special education who works with kids every summer. Or my ideal candidate might be . . . you.
Oh, we have two cats and a huge drooly dog. You absolutely must be totally okay with that. And by huge I mean a 100+lb Rotty.
Don't Get Your Hopes Up. Yeah, Right!
Blog Wordle
Love Life Laughter Motherhood Love Life Laughter Motherhood Adventure Charity Childhood Commitment Community Compassion Courage Devotion Empathy Equality Faith Family Generosity Grace Honor Hope Humility Humor Innocence Intactivism Integrity Joy Justice Kindness Nature Opportunity Optimism Possibility Purpose Spirituality Sportsmanship Strength Truth Whimsy World~Peace
from the DSFG Intranet
Blogger Pains
Acceptance ≈ Perpetration & Cooperation
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.